Centorani: Absolutely zero wrong with Friday's SV/M-E game

Maine-Endwell's Ryan Brozovic looks for running room Friday night against visiting Susquehanna Valley, but as was the case most of the night, it simply wasn't there.
Rob Centorani / Staff video

Buy Photo

Former Maine-Endwell defensive coach Gary Crooks is honored before the Spartans' game against Susquehanna Valley on Friday. It was Crooks' kind of game, a 7-6 overtime win for the Spartans.(Photo: Rob Centorani / Staff photo)Buy Photo

For 48 minutes, nary a visit to the zone for either side? In this era, with multiple formations – trips right on one play, double-wing on the next, full-house backfield on another – that give defenses so much for which to prepare?

It happened Friday night at Maine-Endwell and unless my memory is in worse shape than I think, it’s something I’ve never witnessed.

And get this: It was outstanding.

M-E and Susquehanna Valley got after it, a 7-6 overtime victory for the Spartans. Pounding of plastic on both ends was fierce and easily audible from the sidelines.

First downs felt like touchdowns, crossing midfield was a major accomplishment and defenses were way ahead of offenses.

By the end of regulation, M-E amassed 67 yards of total offense. SV finished with 175 before overtime.

Including overtime, SV ran 61 plays from scrimmage and 31 resulted in gains of no greater than a yard, including nine for negative yardage. The Spartans ran 52 scrimmage plays – 24 gaining no more than a yard and 12 for minus yards.

“I expected a defensive battle,” SV coach Mike Ford said. “M-E’s very disciplined on defense. You know every week what they’re going to be doing and they do it very well. They’re a very talented team, and we’re a very quick and talented team ourselves. It was, I guess, great for fans to watch but not being a part of it.”

Many have heard of coaches telling players to defend an opponent so closely that you wear his number. Well, that literally happened with SV’s William Sheridan and M-E’s Josh Chandler. Both players wear No. 44 and they had some violent collisions, a battle within the game that describes the brutal nature of this one.

Sheridan delivered back-to-back upper-body shots on Chandler in the third quarter after gains of 2 and 1 yard, respectively, and dumped him again after a 3-yard gain to end the period. Chandler, who kicked the winning extra point in overtime, returned the favor in the fourth quarter, dropping Sheridan for a 7-yard loss.

But it was more than those two.

For SV, linebacker Daniel Matthews was a beast, finishing with 2 ½ sacks and at least two other tackles for losses, lineman Daniel Wager had at minimum two tackles for losses and recovered a fumble, and defensive back Josh Rudock made back-to-back plays in the third quarter, batting down one Joe Mancini pass and intercepting the next.

M-E lineman Greg Davis had a huge night as well, including a remarkable interception late in the third quarter. SV quarterback Jarred Freije, also a force from his linebacker position, took a short drop and zipped a pass to his left. Davis timed his jump perfectly and snared a hard-thrown ball above his head. Davis’ night also included a shared sack with A.J. DeSantis in the first quarter, a tackle for no gain in the third quarter and a tackle for a loss in the fourth quarter.

The Spartans’ Tyree Brodley contributed a tackle for a loss in the third quarter and a nifty interception in the fourth quarter, first tipping a pass by Freije, then catching the deflection and returning it about 30 yards.

DeSantis, a 280-pound junior who earned all-state honors last season, appeared to suffer a lower-leg injury and didn’t play much defense after halftime. Sophomore Andre Weather took his spot and had a sack and a quarterback pressure.

Regardless of who was doing what, those playing defense for SV and M-E had memorable nights.

Perhaps the huge crowd on hand should have seen it coming. The guy honored before the game was none other than longtime M-E defensive coach Gary Crooks, who retired from coaching after the 2016-17 school year.

It was his kind of game.

“That’s a good team,” M-E coach Matt Gallagher said of the Sabers. “They’re super-well coached and classy. They were classy from the beginning. They stood hand-in-hand when ‘Crooksie’ was honored.”

The best part? It could happen again. With all eight Class B teams from Section 4 qualifying for the playoffs, there’s a chance we could see Round 2.

“I’m sure we’ll both see each other down the road and we’ll both get better,” said Mancini, whose 2-yard scoring run tied the score at 6 in overtime.

Centorani can be reached at rcentorani@pressconnects.com. Follow @PSBRob on Twitter.